The Excerpt podcast: Supreme Court declines to weigh in on Trump immunity claim

On Saturday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: The Supreme Court has declined to weigh in on Donald Trump's immunity claim - for now. Two paramedics have been found guilty in Elijah McClain's 2019 death. USA TODAY Congress and Campaigns Reporter Riley Beggin breaks down the fight to again avoid a government shutdown. President Joe Biden pardons marijuana use nationwide. USA TODAY National Correspondent Trevor Hughes looks at a Biden administration initiative to preserve old-growth forests.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

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Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Saturday, December 23rd, 2023. This is The Excerpt. Today, the Supreme Court declines to weigh in for now on the Trump immunity claim. Plus paramedics have been found guilty in the death of Elijah McClain, and we have the latest around the fight to avoid a potential government shutdown next year.

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The Supreme Court yesterday sidestepped the question of whether former President Donald Trump may claim immunity from criminal charges tied to his alleged interference in the 2020 election. The decision was a win for Trump in the immediate sense. He had opposed the effort by special counsel Jack Smith to have the Supreme Court decide the question of Trump's immunity. But the same case will likely return to the Supreme Court in the coming months. For now, the issue will first be decided by a federal Appeals Court in Washington. Smith wants a trial as soon as possible, and Trump would presumably want to delay one until after the election. At that point, a possible President Trump in 2025 could more easily fight his legal troubles by directing the Justice Department to dismiss the cases.

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Two paramedics were convicted yesterday in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain. He died after being stopped by Aurora, Colorado Police and injected with ketamine by the Emergency Medical Services workers. Paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Lieutenant Peter Cichuniec were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide after a week's long trial. The jury also found Cichuniec guilty on one of two second degree assault charges. Cooper was found not guilty on the assault charges. The verdict in the final trial over McClain's death comes after two police officers were acquitted and one was convicted of charges related to the stop. It's rare for police officers to be charged or convicted in on-duty killings and experts previously told USA Today it's even rarer for paramedics to be criminally prosecuted in cases like this. McClain was walking home from a store in August of 2019 when police stopped and violently restrained him. The paramedics told detectives McClain was actively resisting officers, which appears to contradict body camera footage of the incident. Cooper, one of the medical workers, injected McClain with 500 milligrams of ketamine, more than the amount recommended for his weight according to the indictment.

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Americans face the threat of yet another government shutdown next year and lawmakers left Washington for the holidays with a lot of unfinished business toward finding a resolution. I spoke with USA Today Congress and Campaigns Reporter, Riley Beggin for more. Riley, so good to have you on. Thanks for making the time.

Riley Beggin:

So happy to be here.

Taylor Wilson:

How do House Republicans differ with Republicans and Democrats in the Senate when it comes to the budget? And Riley, what's the timeline looking like at this point for getting a new spending bill passed?

Riley Beggin:

This is going to be a messy January, I'll say that upfront. To understand what's going on, we have to go back actually to the last Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy in the spring negotiated a deal with President Joe Biden to raise the debt ceiling. They had agreed to spend $1.59 trillion, and then in addition to that, spend another $69 billion in non-Defense spending. And this deal was really created to have incentives for both sides to come to the table and create a deal, really to avoid the issue that we have before us in January.

So of course, Kevin McCarthy is no longer the speaker of the house. We now have Mike Johnson, and there was some infighting there for a while about cutting spending even further. Now, House Republicans are at a place where they're saying, "We are willing to honor that initial agreement, the $1.59 trillion, but not the additional $69 billion." And that almost $70 billion is really what brought Democrats to the table. Senate Democrats and Republicans are on the same page. They say, "Let's just keep it simple, adhere to that initial agreement and go from there."

So Congress comes back on January 8th, and when they do, they're going to have less than two weeks to strike a deal on several federal agencies, transportation, housing, agriculture, energy programs. A lot of those budgets are due by January 19th. Then two weeks later, the rest of the government funding is due. But the way that the calendar works out, there's only going to be three days where both chambers are in session.

Taylor Wilson:

Wow. And if they cannot come to an agreement, Republican House Speaker, Mike Johnson, you mentioned has said he does not want to pass another short-term extension. We've seen these in recent years instead supporting a full year extension. What are some of the complications to that, Riley?

Riley Beggin:

There have been two extensions since the beginning of this fiscal year. So that's part of Johnson's political calculus. He has these folks on the right really pressuring him not to do that, but it is more complicated than it sounds. As a part of that deal between Biden and McCarthy, they added this sort of ticking time bomb to incentivize them to get the job done. If they don't pass all 12 appropriation bills by April, there's going to be across the board cuts. They were trying to make those cuts have a real impact on defense spending to bring Republicans to the table. But because of some budget math that I'm not going to bore you with, those numbers actually ended up a little bit more complicated and it would result in a pretty significant cut to non-Defense spending. In fact, a 9% cut over the last fiscal year, which is really significant.

And when we're talking about non-Defense, that is everything else that the Congress pays for besides Medicare and Social Security and some of those so-called entitlement programs that are not discretionary spending. So as you can expect, a lot of members on both sides of the aisle would really like to avoid that. We're going to see how this shakes out.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Riley Beggin covers Congress and campaigns for USA Today. Thanks so much, Riley. Happy holidays.

Riley Beggin:

Of course. Likewise.

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Taylor Wilson:

President Joe Biden announced yesterday that he's issuing a federal pardon to every American who has used marijuana in the past, including those who were never arrested or prosecuted. The pardon applies to all US citizens and lawful permanent residents in possession of the drug for personal use and those convicted of similar federal crimes. It also forgives pot users in the District of Columbia, but it does not apply to individuals who have been jailed for selling marijuana, which is illegal under federal law or other marijuana offenses like driving under the influence of an illegal substance. Biden issued a similar pardon last year, but this proclamation goes further for giving all instances of simple marijuana use or possession under federal law, including for individuals who have never been charged. It also expands Biden's previous directive to include minor marijuana offenses committed on federal property.

The White House said thousands of people with federal and district convictions will be eligible for pardons. Still, the pardons do not apply to those who violated state law. And anyone who wants to receive proof of a pardon will have to apply through the Department of Justice. One expert told USA Today that it's relatively rare for the federal government to prosecute people for simple marijuana possession as it is, and that it's not clear how many people the initiative will help. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.

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There are trees in the US that have existed for thousands of years, and a new Biden administration initiative aims to make it harder to cut them down. I spoke with USA Today National Correspondent, Trevor Hughes about the move and its potential implications. Trevor, thanks for hopping on.

Trevor Hughes:

Great to be here.

Taylor Wilson:

So Trevor, what is this Biden administration initiative around old growth forests?

Trevor Hughes:

So in this country, we cut down most of the forests that carpeted or blanketed North America when European colonizers moved here. And so this Biden initiative is an effort to protect some of those last forests that have never been touched. And we're talking about the redwoods out in California, the giant sequoias out in California, but also bristle cone pine trees up in Nevada that are 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, even 5,000 years old.

Taylor Wilson:

What are the implications here, Trevor, as it relates to climate change and animal habitats and more?

Trevor Hughes:

We know that trees and forests in general are just fabulous consumers of carbon dioxide. We learn in grade school that trees consume carbon dioxide and release oxygen. That's great for us. And so all of these forests represent huge carbon sinks helping slow the effects of climate change. And at the same time, these forests provide a habitat for thousands of different species across the country. Nevermind the humans who go there to appreciate that sense of wonder that comes from looking at something that has seen more or less every major human civilization come and go.

Taylor Wilson:

Trevor, you touched on this a bit at the top, but what is the US history around logging and when did the government really start stepping in to regulate it more strictly?

Trevor Hughes:

One of the things that helped power the creation of the United States was our abundant forests. You have to bear in mind that Europeans had cut down all of their trees for hundreds of years for people were using it for firewood, but also for Navies. And so when Europeans came to what is now the United States and saw these forests, it was an opportunity to build ships, to build buildings, to build industries, and then later to build railroads. And that's really what helped power this country.

The problem was that as we powered this country and built those Navies and built those railroads, we were dramatically changing the landscape around us. And so the Forest Service, which really looks after the forests and national grasslands of this country, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, they started taking on that role of managing these forests as a national resource for us all.

Taylor Wilson:

So Trevor, how contentious is this move from the Biden administration? Are we seeing pushback from, say, the logging industry or others?

Trevor Hughes:

The logging industry has some concerns about this. They're worried that this is yet another set of government red tape, government regulations that will slow the process. And it's really important to keep in mind that forests are a hugely important part of our economy. I live in a house made of wood. I'm looking at a fence made of wood, toilet paper, newspapers. Forests are a huge part of this country and our economy. And so the logging industry wants to make sure that any protections that these forests are getting are actually protecting the forest and not just making it harder to conduct business.

Taylor Wilson:

Trevor Hughes is a National Correspondent with USA Today. Trevor, happy holidays. Thanks for making the time.

Trevor Hughes:

You bet.

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Taylor Wilson:

And be sure to stay tuned to The Excerpt tomorrow when my co-host, Dana Taylor looks at the loneliness epidemic and how to solve it with US Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy. You can find the episode right here on this feed. And a reminder, The Excerpt is now on YouTube. All of our episodes, podcasts and podcasts are now being posted to our YouTube playlist. We have a link in today's show notes. You can catch Dana tomorrow, and I'll be back Monday with more of The Excerpt from USA Today.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Excerpt podcast: SCOTUS declines to weigh in on Trump immunity